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Document Details : Title: De Mortuis Nil Nisi Hebraice? Subtitle: The Language of Tombstone Inscriptions in Nineteenth-Century Germany Author(s): BROCKE, M. , MÜLLER, C.E. Journal: Studia Rosenthaliana Volume: 36 Date: 2002-2003 Pages: 49-76 DOI: 10.2143/SR.36.0.504916 Abstract : From the ninth until the early nineteenth century, Hebrew was the sole language of sepulchral inscriptions throughout the Askhenazi world. Although their former multilingualism, Jews only held on to Hebrew, which became the Jewish Lingua Franca and dominant on tombstone inscriptions in Central Europe from the eleventh century on. At that time, the Jewish Askhenazi vernacular, Yiddish, was still evolving, initially as an oral language, but steadily entering the realm of the written word and booklore. But Yiddish was never considered suitable for sepulchral inscriptions and it comes as no surprise that we do not know of a single example of a Yiddish or partially Yiddish gravestone inscription predating the late nineteenth century. |
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